Some very familiar names and some fresh talent on the Writers Guild of America’s list of nominees for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen. Here are the nominations released today.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight

Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox

The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight

Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme; Sony Pictures

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate

Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Against the Tide, Screenplay by Richard Trank & Rabbi Marvin Hier; Moriah Films

Capitalism: A Love Story, Written by Michael Moore; Overture Films

The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

Earth Days, Written by Robert Stone; Zeitgeist Films

Good Hair, Written by Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson and Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar; Roadside Attractions

Soundtrack for a Revolution, Written by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman; Freedom Song Productions and Louverture Films

The winners will be announced at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York on Saturday, February 20, 2010.

Photo:  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove. Writers crowd around a table to buy tickets to pitch to representatives for management firms, agencies, and production companies. In the background writers line up and wait for the call into the pitch room.

Some up-and-coming screenwriters are getting Hollywood attention and exposure from the 2009 Screenwriting Expo. Hundreds of scribes pitched their ideas and scripts during the three day Golden Pitch Festival in a huge room at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. The tickets were not cheap: $25 for a mere five minutes of face time. It was a gamble, but one worth taking for writers looking for a chance to jump start a Hollywood career or deal.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove. Writers answering the call to file into the pitch waiting room. 

I stood in that pitch line for several hours on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18. The blisters are still healing on my toes from the cute shoes I insisted on wearing that weekend. While in line, I listened to the nervous chatter around me. I heard one writer say he had 18 pitches lined up on one day. Wow. That’s a lot of talking and moolah. Another writer in line for his next pitch was asked “How’d it go?”  He didn’t know, but said he was just glad he didn’t faint, throw-up or pee his pants. I’m sure the agent/manager/production company representative he pitched to was pleased about that as well.

A writer from London I met, pitched a romantic comedy and got a script request right on the spot at a pitch meeting on Sunday. I must admit the pitch festival has opened the door for a script opportunity for me as well. Last week, I got an e-mail from a production company representative I pitched to asking to read my romantic comedy screenplay, ”He’s The One.”

My script is listed as one of the semifinalists on the 2009 Screenwriting Expo winners page. This is great exposure for me and the other writers on the list, some of them have had their scripts requested by production companies as well or have meetings set up with agents, managers, and producers. The Los Angeles Chronicle has an article about the early success of some of the winning scripts and screenwriters from this year’s Expo.

Photo: FLLewis/ A Writer’s Groove. Screenplay prize runner-up, Erin Donovan, is congratulated by Creative Screenwriting magazine publisher, Bill Donovan, and Screenwriting Contest Coordinator, Pasha McKenley.

Besides the pitching, script contests, and networking there were a ton of seminars, classes, and panels. I only managed to get to a few and all of them were pretty good.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove. Novelist/Screenwriter James Dalessandro makes a point in one of his classes.

A stand-out was a class from Novelist/Screenwriter James Dalessandro called,”How the Big Dogs Do It.” Dalessandro used video clips from movies like, “Chinatown,” “Unforgiven,” “Fargo,” and “Sling blade,” to show the writing techniques of the pros in the screenwriting biz. Dalessandro was on fire! He lectured, answered questions, and encouraged writers to use what they learn from the pros to elevate their own writing. The room was packed with people standing in back and sitting on the floor. Dalessandro said he asked for a bigger room. Maybe, he’ll get it at next year’s Screenwriting Expo.  

The 2009 Screenwriting Expo in Downtown Los Angeles is history. What a wild, roller coaster ride it was, providing this writer with some exciting moments and a thrill or two. I joined hundreds of eager screenwriters or aspiring screenwriters at the Wilshire Grand hotel from October 15-to-18 for seminars, pitch meetings, and the all important, networking.

Writers came from places like China, Canada, London, Washington D. C., Chicago, West Palm Beach, Canoga Park, and oh yes, Burbank. They got the chance to pitch their scripts to heavy hitters like DreamWorks, Benderspink, CAA, Warner Bros., and the Gersh Agency. They got to listen to screenwriting legend William Goldman and highly successful Producer Mike Medavoy.  Despite all of what’s been said about the low status of writers in Tinseltown, Medavory says, “…you have the power…” and it’s on the page. Nice to hear.

In another seminar, San Francisco screenwriter/lecturer James Dalessandro described a recent trip to the Southland to sell a project this way, I had… “$430 in the bank… came back with a half million dollars.”  Hey, now that’s the stuff that Hollywood dreams are made of.

Oh, speaking of scripts, my romantic comedy, “He’s The One,” was in the 2009 Screenwriting Expo screenplay competition. They got nearly two thousand entries! I did not win the big prize, but did reach the short list of semifinalists. More on my adventures at the Screenwriting Expo later.

Movie audiences were up for something creepy and funny and apparently the new flick, “Zombieland” filled the bill. “Zombieland ” stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors trying to stay ahead of the zombies who have become a worldwide plague. The horror/comedy raked in an estimated $25 million to easily win the Box Office race and to become the number one movie in the country.

“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” dropped to second place, after two weeks in the top spot. The 3D animated film earned an estimated $16.7 million to bring its three week total to around $82 million. The re-release of ”Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D” played well enough as a double-feature to land in third place with an estimated $12.5 million.

Another new arrival, “The Invention of Lying,” pulled in around $7.4 million for fourth place. The comedy is set in an alternate reality where everyone speaks the truth until one guy tells the first fib. It stars Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais who co-directed and co-wrote the film as well. Also very close behind in fifth with around $7.3 million, the Bruce Wills sci-fi/drama, “Surrogates.”